Ground Stake With Raised Signal

ABSTRACT

An enhanced ground stake provides a ground stake for restraining a dog or other animal that improves ability to relocate and find an unattended stake in wooded or grassy areas after returning from a walk or hunt, alerts others to the location of an unattended stake in the ground and potential tripping hazard, and provides an indication of whether a dog is still attached to the stake.

PRIORITY CLAIM

Applicant hereby claims priority under 35 USC § 119 to provisional U.S.patent application Ser. No. 62/605,051, filed Jul. 31, 2017, entitled“Ultimate Dog Stake.”

The entire contents of the aforementioned application are hereinexpressly incorporated by reference.

FIELD

The present innovations generally relate to a ground stake for securinga dog, or other pets or animals to a certain confined area, and moreparticularly to a ground stake having a swivel connector for attachingthe pet or animal and a raised flag or other signal for improvedidentification to the staked location in outdoor environments. Whilediscussed in the context of a dog stake below, the disclosure is not solimited and it will be understood to be useful in conjunction with otheranimals that need to be restrained.

BACKGROUND

Mankind is thought to have domesticated dogs nearly 15,000 years ago andsince that time dogs have been keep for pets and work, including huntingand herding. In order to control or confine dogs in a domestic orworking environments people have developed various devices to keep dogsby their side and prevent their dogs from leaving a confined area wherea distraction may otherwise draw the dog away. These devices range fromsimple tools, such as, dog crates and leashes that physically limit thedogs movement to more high tech devices such as electronic fences whichtrain the dog to not to leave a defined area. These devices havelimitations—namely, crates are large and provide limited range ofmovement, leashes typically can provide greater movement but need to beheld by a person and electronic fences require training the dog to stayin a specific visually identifiable area and they cannot readily bemoved to new locations without retraining the dog. Another option forconfining or restricting a dog's movement is a ground stake, which canallow a dog greater freedom of movement, readily be moved from locationto location, and since it can be fixed to the ground does not requireconstant human interaction. Ground stake are particularly useful wherethe dog may be tied in a location for some extended time, such as, acampsite or park, or where the dog's owner needs their hands free suchas for hunting. While ground stakes are prevalent, one issue with knowstakes is that since they are fixed to the ground they can become easilylost in wooded or tall grass areas if not immediately remove once thedog is unhooked. This is a common situation in hunting situations orfield contests. For example, in using dogs for hunting and retrieving,the dog may frequently be restrained during the hunt and then releasedto retrieve the animal. Upon the dog's return it is often difficult torelocate the stake especially in tall grass. Stakes left behind in thefield because they could not be relocated result in financial loss andwaste, and the creation of hazards and dangerous conditions. Forexample, people have been known to run over their own stakes with avehicle when returning to the area potentially damaging the vehicle,lost stakes create a tripping hazard for others traveling through thearea, and unseen stakes in farmer's fields are especially dangerous forworkers and farm equipment. For the forgoing reasons, there is a needfor a ground stake that can be more easily identified and retrieved.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure solves the above needs and deficiencies withknown dog stakes by providing a ground post for securing a dog andhaving a pivotably attached offset extension flag. The presentdisclosure provides a dog stake for staking a dog to the ground whereinthe stake comprises a ground post extending from a lower portion to anupper portion, the lower portion being adapted to be secured in theground and the upper portion being adapted to receive a swivelconnector, the swivel connector being rotatably attached to the upperportion of the ground post and having at least one radial extendingportion forming an attachment lug for attaching a dog and a verticallysignal extension rod connected at a lower end to the swivel connectorand extending to an upper end providing a signal. In alternateembodiments of the disclosure, the swivel connector has an attachmentlug extending radially from one side of the swivel connector and has asignal rod attachment mount or point radially extending from anotherside of the swivel connector so that a longitudinal axis of the signalrod is preferably parallel to but offset from a longitudinal axis of thestake ground shaft or post. In various other embodiments, the signal maybe a flag, light and sound emitter. In yet other embodiments, the lowerportion of the ground shaft or post may be adapted with various means toassist in attaching to the device to the ground including a foot plateto help the user push the stake into the ground, or the lower portion ofthe stake may be formed in corkscrew shape to permit the user to screwthe stake into the ground. In yet other embodiments the swivel connectormay be formed as a clamp so that the user may clamp the signal rod andsignal to their own stake or other structure or device. In a simplifiedembodiment, the attachment lug and signal rod attachment point or mountmay alternatively be fixedly attached directly to the ground stake post.

While the disclosure above and the detailed disclosure below ispresented herein in the context of a dog stake, it will be understood bythose of ordinary skill in the art that the concepts may be applied toother types of animals or pet stakes in various ways where there is abeneficial advantage to see, find and relocate the ground stake and alsovisualize from a distance whether there is animal tied to the stake.With the foregoing overview in mind, specific details will now bepresented, bearing in mind that these details are for illustrativepurposes only and are not intended to be exclusive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings illustrate various non-limiting examples andinnovative aspects of the ground stake with raised signal in accordancewith the present description:

FIG. 1 shows an isometric view of one embodiment of the ground stakewith raised signal; and

FIG. 2 shows an exploded view of one embodiment of the ground stake withraised signal.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In simplified overview, an improved ground stake is described herein forproviding a means of securing an animal in an area of the woods orfield.

FIG. 1 illustrates one example arrangement of the improved ground stakewith a swivel signal attachment for use in restricting a dog, pet orother animal to a confined area such as a dog park, field or huntingarea. The ground stake is preferably in the form of a post (1) having arotatably attached swivel connector (2), a locking flange (5), and asignal extension rod (3) holding a signal (4).

In a preferred embodiment the post (1) is an elongated metal post or rodconstructed from steel or aluminum extending from a lower portion to anupper portion. The post (1) can be various lengths depending on theanimal to be secured but is commonly about 24 inches for securing a dog.The lower portion of the post (1) is preferably adapted to be receivedin the ground. As shown in FIG. 1, the lower and of the post (1) isformed with a point so that the post can be more easily driven into theground. In alternate arrangements, the lower and of the post (1) may beformed in a corkscrew or with barbs as necessary depending on the typeof soil where the dog or animal is to be staked (e.g., sand, clay, peator loam). Referring to FIG. 2 which illustrates and exploded view of oneembodiment of the ground stake, the upper portion of the post ispreferably formed or milled so the post diameter at the upper portion isnarrower than the post diameter of the lower portion forming a seat orsill for supporting the swivel connector (2). In alternate embodiments,the post (1) may have a constant diameter and include a circumferentialflange for supporting the swivel connector (2) on the upper portion ofthe post (1).

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the swivel connector (2) is preferablyformed of the same metal as the post (e.g., steel or aluminum) and has asleeve or cylindrical main body section (2 c), an attachment lug (2 a)and a signal rod mount or attachment (2 b). The sleeve or main bodysection (2 c) has a central void with an internal diameter slightlylarger than the external diameter of the upper portion of the post (1).In this way the swivel connector (2) can be received on the upperportion of the post (1) and rotate or swivel around the post (1). Theswivel connector (2) is preferably supported at a lower end by restingon the sill, seat or flange as described above and secured at an upperend by a locking flange (5) fixed to the upper portion of the post (1)by welding or threaded attachment or the like. The locking flange (5) ispreferably sized and formed of suitable material so that it can be usedas a driving point to hammer the stake into the ground without beingdamaged.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the swivel connector (2) preferably has atleast one radially extending portion forming an attachment lug or point(2 a) and a signal rod attachment mount or point (2 b). While inalternate embodiments the attachment lug (2 a) and signal rod attachmentpoint (2 b) can be formed on the same radially extending portion,referring to FIG. 1, the attachment lug (2 a) and signal rod attachmentpoint (2 b) preferably extend from opposite sides of the sleeve or mainbody section (2 c). Alternatively, in some simplified embodiments, theattachment lug (2 a) and (signal rod attachment point (2 b) may befixedly attached directly to post (1); in this simplified embodimentthere is no main body portion (2 c) that rotates around the upperportion of post (1) and the post (1) may be a single diameter with noflange, sill or seat.

The rod attachment mount or point (2 b) is preferably adapted to receivea signal extension rod (3), which may be removably or fixedly attachedto the signal rod attachment point (2 b). The signal extension rod (2 b)is preferably adapted at a lower end to be held in the signal rodattachment point (2 b) and to receive and hold a signaling device (4) atthe upper end. The signal extension rod may be a fixed or extendablelength. While the extension rod may be any length, it is preferable thatthe extension be one to four feet in length to reach above tall grass orbushes. The extension rod (3) may be made from any substantial rigidmaterial though it is desirable that it be flexible to prevent injury orbreakage and it is preferable that the signal rod extension (3) be madeof plastic or fiber glass.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a signal device (4) is received on the upperend of the signal extension rod (3). In one embodiment, the signaldevice (4) is shown as a flag but may be any device that is useful forthe user of the stake to relocate the stake after leaving the area.Accordingly, in various scenarios the signal device may alternatively orin combination also include a sound emitter (e.g., for use by those whoare sight impaired), or light emitter (for retrieval in the dark), andalternatively be remotely activate so the user may activate the light orsound only when needed.

Referring to FIG. 1, in the present disclosure the signal extension rod(3) and signal (4) are advantageously in an offset position from post(3) and locking flange (5). This arrangement permits the user to readilyhammer the stake into the ground without impediment from the signalextension rod. Once the stake is secured in the ground and an animalsuch as a dog is attached by leash or chain, the swivel connector (2)will swivel and the signal (4) will move and rotate around the stake asthe dog moves, due to the offset between the extension rod (3) and thepost (1). This feature can both help to locate the stake and serve as anindicator that the dog is still attached to the stake even from adistance.

It should be understood that this description (including the figures) isonly representative of some illustrative embodiments. For theconvenience of the reader, the above description has focused onrepresentative samples of all possible embodiments, and samples thatteach the principles of the disclosure. The description has notattempted to exhaustively enumerate all possible variations. Thatalternate embodiments may not have been presented for a specific portionof the disclosure, or that further undescribed alternate embodiments maybe available for a portion, is not to be considered a disclaimer ofthose alternate embodiments. One of ordinary skill will appreciate thatmany of those undescribed embodiments incorporate the same principles ofthe disclosure as claimed and others are equivalent.

What is claimed is:
 1. A ground stake comprising: a post wherein thepost extends from a lower portion to an upper portion, the lower portionadapted to be placed in the ground; a swivel connector wherein theswivel connector has a main body portion adapted to be rotatablereceived on the upper portion of the post, and wherein the main bodyportion is adapted to rotate around a longitudinal axis of the post, andwherein a first extension portion and a second extension portionextending radially from the main body portion in a direction away fromthe longitudinal axis of the post, wherein the first extension portioncomprises an attachment lug for securing a animal and the secondextension portion comprises a signal rod attachment point; a signalextension rod wherein the signal extension rod extends from a lowerportion to an upper portion, the lower portion of the signal extensionrod being attached to the signal rod attachment point of the swivelconnector, and wherein a longitudinal axis of the signal extension rodis radially offset from the longitudinal axis of the post; and a signalattached to the upper portion of the signal extension rod.
 2. The groundstake of claim 1, wherein the lower portion of the post is formed in apoint.
 3. The ground stake of claim 1, wherein the lower portion of thepost is formed in a screw shape.
 4. The ground stake of claim 1, whereinthe signal is a flag.
 5. The ground stake of claim 1, wherein the signalis a light.
 6. The ground stake of claim 1, wherein the signal is asound emitter.
 7. The ground stake of claim 5, wherein the light may beremotely activated.
 8. The ground stake of claim 6, wherein the soundemitter may be remotely activated.
 9. The ground stake of claim 1,wherein the attachment lug is a u-shaped radial extension.
 10. Theground stake of claim 1, wherein the post is composed of metal and thesignal extension rod is composed of one of plastic or fiberglass. 11.The ground stake of claim 1, further comprising a locking flange fixedlyattached to the upper portion of the post.
 12. The ground stake of claim11, wherein the upper portion of the post has a first diameter and thelower portion of the post has a second diameter, wherein the firstdiameter is smaller than the second diameter and wherein a sill isformed at the junction of the upper and lower positions of the postwhereby the sill supports the swivel connector.
 13. The ground stale ofclaim 1, wherein the attachment lug and the signal rod attachment pointextend radially from opposite sides of the main body portion.
 14. Aground stake comprising: a metal post from one to two feet in lengthwherein the post extends from a lower portion having a first diameter toan upper portion having a second diameter, the first diameter is greaterthan the second diameter, a sill is formed at a junction of the lowerportion and the upper portion, and the lower portion ends in a pointedportion; a metal swivel connector wherein the swivel connector has amain body portion formed as a sleeve having an inner diameter sized torotatably receive the second diameter of the post and adapted to rotatearound a longitudinal axis of the post, and wherein a first extensionportion and a second extension portion extending radially in a rangefrom one to three inches away from the longitudinal axis from opposingsides of the main body portion, the first extension portion comprisingan attachment lug for securing an animal and the second extensionportion comprises a signal rod attachment point; a locking flangeadapted to be received and secured on the upper portion of the metalpost; a signal extension rod in the range of one to four feet in lengthand composed of at least one of fiberglass or plastic wherein the signalextension rod extends from a lower portion to an upper portion, thelower portion of the signal extension rod being attached to the signalrod attachment point of the swivel connector, and wherein a longitudinalaxis of the signal extension rod is radially offset from thelongitudinal axis of the post; and a signal flag attached to the upperportion of the signal extension rod.